Staff Reporter – The Zimbabwe Daily
Okavango Delta, Botswana
More than 350 elephant carcasses have been spotted in Botswana’s Okavango Delta in the past two months.
To date, no-one knows why the animals are dying in Botswana. The southern African country has the world’s largest elephant population, estimated at 130 000.
“We have had a report of 356 dead elephants in the area north of the Okavango Delta, and we have confirmed 275 so far, we do not suspect poaching since the animals were found with tusks,” said Cyril Taolo, acting director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks
The department of Wildlife and National Parks said it was mobilising human personnel and aircraft to better understand the situation. Samples have been collected for analysis at labs in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada.
Similar deaths were first reported in May when authorities found 12 carcasses in just a week in two villages in the northwest of the country.
